Racers don't care about times; they're trying to survive. Most don't even choose to be timed.

Rugged Maniac is a 5K run/obstacle course designed by Navy SEALS. The point is not to win, but simply to complete its 20 obstacles — barbed wire, mud pits, free-fall jumps into ice water, rope climbs, walls of fire and more.

So the fact that 23 SouthCoasters started the Rugged Maniac 5K in Southwick this fall and all 23 finished — that's saying something.

"We were all about camaraderie. I don't leave that mountain until everyone is off that mountain," said team leader Liz Martins. "'No soldier left behind' is our philosophy."

Martins, a personal trainer, works at Work Out World and Pro Fitness gyms in Fall River. She trained all 23 competitors in the two Fall River gyms.

She led the Fall River teams on a 5K run over rugged terrain rigged with 20 obstacles. The competitors had to climb 12-foot walls, crawl under barbed wire, jump over fire, dive and swim through a tank of ice water, and crawl on their stomachs through body-hugging, pitch-dark tunnels.

So what did Martins think of it?

"It was fun, fun, fun, fun. I love these little races," Martins said. "The Rugged Maniac is great for the average person trying to obtain a fitness goal. It's basically just fire, water and lots of mud. And obstacles, like climbing 12-foot walls."

We'll leave it up to you to decide, but perhaps, just perhaps, Martins doesn't realize her own strength here.

"Really, it's mostly a mental thing," Martins insisted. "I'd say the toughest thing for people would be crawling through the underground tunnels for anyone who's claustrophobic. You're underground for about a minute in a tunnel. There's no light until you come out."

Martins said Rugged Maniac was just the preparation for her main event: Tough Mudder, coming up this spring. Martins will begin training people for that race in January. Last year she led 25 racers from the Fall River gyms.

According to the website, Tough Mudder events are "hard-core 10 to 12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. ... (It's) the premier adventure challenge series in the world."

For Martins, the most difficult event at Tough Mudder last year was The Icepack — a 30 foot jump into a plywood bucket of ice water.

"Many people are either afraid of water or heights. My fear is water," Martins said. "Even when you jump and swim through the ice, when you get out, you're soaking wet and you've got to run up a mountain."

One thing Martins prides herself on — no matter what the event — is camaraderie.

"For some teams there, it's all about the time. They'll leave the slower members behind. For us, it was all about doing it together, no matter how long it took us. We actually took on a team member that had been abandoned by her own teammates. She was scared of heights, and her team left her at an obstacle. So she finished the race with us."

Martins led a group in New Bedford's Santa Run 5K on Dec. 8 in preparation for Tough Mudder.

"We do these little races to keep us active. It's just so much fun when you have a team, it forces you to push a little harder, stay in the game a little longer," she said. "With group training, I feel like it's 10 times more magnetic than (one-on-one) training. It's just the amazing feeling of everyone coming together to accomplish one goal: to finish."

You might see Martin's crew in training.

Their preparation for extreme racing includes climbing walls next to The Herald News building, jumping down poles around Government Center, and running the Seven Hills' up President Avenue, along with running at Heritage State Park and Bicentennial Park.

They also train at Chaos Theory, an adult obstacle course in Berkley. Their training there includes flipping over 300-pound tires, jumping walls and climbing ropes.

Toni Delgado-Green, of Fall River, completed the Rugged Maniac as part of Martins' team. She said previously, "I'm intrigued by challenges. Fire to jump over, barbed wire. ... Just the thought of it gives me an adrenaline rush."

Lauren Daley is a freelance writer. Contact her at ldaley33@gmail.com.